


Bentycutio advent 2015

by tveckling



Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types
Genre: Advent Calendar Drabble, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-24 04:09:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 16,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6141046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tveckling/pseuds/tveckling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of drabbles written for promptmeshakespeare's 2015 advent event prompts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1 - Advent

It was supposed to be their first Christmas together after they’d finally overcome all problems and moved in together. It was supposed to be the three of them, sharing and enjoying the season. It was supposed to be just them - until Tybalt’s aunt called during the first days of November and told him he was desperately needed at home.   
  
Despite Benvolio’s pleading and Mercutio’s arguments why he should stay Tybalt started packing his bags; he couldn’t ignore his family when they needed him, he tried to explain, but Mercutio furiously cursed at him and Benvolio shook his head. The next day he was gone, and with him all the excitement they’d had. He wouldn’t be back until late January.   
  
It was now the evening of 29th November, and Benvolio and Mercutio were curled together on the couch, watching A Wonderful Life with Mercutio commenting every other scene. Benvolio had long since stopped actually watching the movie.   
  
“-and now he’s realizing how awful everything was without him, and how important he actually was, and blah blah blah. And of course the townspeople comes to help him out, and everyone he’s ever met comes to help him too, and they all love him. Why did the cop have to miss him, should have just shot him, then I wouldn’t have to watch this,” Mercutio muttered and threw popcorn at the screen. He looked up at Benvolio from where he laid in the latter’s knees. “Why did we have to watch this movie? It’s not even good, just a waste of time.”  
  
Benvolio shrugged and continued playing with Mercutio’s hair. “It’s supposed to be a Christmas classic. We’d all planned to watch this on the first advent, which is today.”  
  
Mercutio glared darkly at the screen. “Which is pointless,, you mean, since we’re not all here anyway. A shit movie for a shit day, how fitting.”  
  
“I know,” Benvolio said with a sigh. “I was just as excited for this as you were, remember that. But it’s as it is and we just have to make the best of it. Or are you planning on sulking the whole Christmas? Because if you do you’re sleeping on the couch. I’m already disappointed as it is, I’m not going to deal with you being pissed off as well.”  
  
“I’m not sulking!” Mercutio protested vehemently.   
  
“Then what the hell do you call your behavior the last few days? Criticizing everything, muttering to yourself, glaring at everyone and everything. You told Romeo off yesterday for being so chipper,” Benvolio said and glared down at the back of Mercutio’s head. “Which, yeah, okay, he annoyed me too, but still. You change your behavior or your ass is exiled from the bed.”  
  
Mercutio’s reply was thankfully cut off from the front door opening. They both looked at each other before getting out of the couch and going out into the hall to see Tybalt heaving his bags on the floor, the very picture of exhaustion. As he saw Benvolio and Mercutio his face shone up with an apologetic  smile.   
  
“I couldn’t stay there longer,” he said and made a quickly aborted shrug, looking down at the floor. “I helped with the trouble as best I could, then I said I had to go back home—to my home—that there were people waiting here for me. I couldn’t stop thinking about you two and- I’m sorry that I left, I shouldn’t have done that. We had plans and I was looking forward to them so much, and I ruined it all by just leaving, and I’m so-”  
  
Benvolio took several steps forward and embraced Tybalt hard. “I’m happy you’re home,” he said before kissing Tybalt softly.  
  
Mercutio hesitated and just looked at the two. He bit his lip and finally marched over when Benvolio and Tybalt parted, planted his hands in Tybalt’s jacket, and pushed him up against the wall. “You don’t leave us again,” he said shortly.

Tybalt smiled looped sided. “I won’t, I promise.”  
  
Mercutio nodded once, then bent forward and kissed Tybalt hard. Benvolio smiled behind them, but his smile got forced and then disappeared as the minutes went by without the kiss stopping. Eventually he sighed and cleared his throat.  
  
“Guys? I’m happy Tybalt’s back too, but can we please keep the making out to when we’re all not standing in the hallway? With Tybalt still wearing outerwear, and I am not going to unpack your bags, by the way, Tybalt. You packed them, you unpack them.”  
  
Mercutio broke away from Tybalt and turned around with a grin to throw his arms around Benvolio. “To the couch it is then, and making out for the rest of the evening! What do you say to getting a headstart while Tybalt unpacks?”  
  
Benvolio pretended to think it over, then nodded. “Sounds agreeable to me, let’s do it. Better hurry up,” he called out over his shoulder at Tybalt who made a face at them, but Benvolio could see his moves were hurried as he removed his jacket. Benvolio grinned and allowed Mercutio to drag him into their living room. They were all together again, and he knew it was going to be a good Christmas despite everything.


	2. Day 2 - Snow

It wasn’t that Tybalt didn’t like snow—in fact he could find it calming to look at—but that he deeply disliked everything that came with it. To begin with it only snowed when it was cold enough, and Tybalt was man enough to admit he didn’t enjoy the cold -he had a tendency to get sick during the winter season and blamed it on the weather; since snow rarely lasted long in Verona it quickly turned into either slush or ice, and neither were pleasant to walk on; and experience had taught him to watch for snowballs whenever he ventured outside. No, he didn’t have anything against snow itself, but if he had his way there’d never be any again.

Mercutio’s horrified face when Tybalt said as much was certainly a sight to behold, and he wished he had thought to take a picture. The following explosion, however, was far less amusing. According to Mercutio not absolutely loving snow was a clear sign that you were a horrible person, and he had taken to calling Tybalt the Grinch. The only thing Benvolio had said about the whole ordeal was that Grinch wasn’t really fitting, since Tybalt only hated part of chistmas and not the whole deal. That had been when Tybalt gave up on them and went to do some grocery shopping.

It had been a week since and there hadn’t been any signs of snow, for which Tybalt was relieved, but he had also noticed Mercutio’s mood darkening day by day, and it was affecting all three of them. Confronting Mercutio had proven to be more difficult than expected, as Mercutio didn’t rise to any of Tybalt’s openings, so he had turned to Benvolio for an explanation instead.

“What do you mean, it’s because of the snow? There’s no snow, and they’ve said on the news that there’s low risk of any coming at all. Just like every year.” Tybalt huffed over his crossed arms.

Benvolio gave him an unimpressed look. “Exactly. That’s the problem.” When Tybalt didn’t say anything Benvolio sighed and put down his pen. “I don’t know the details, but if there’s no snow at this time of the year he always gets down like this. I think it has something to do with his childhood, before his parents died. You haven’t been around him during Christmas before, have you?” He looked at Tybalt and inclined his head apologetically. “Forgot that, of course you haven’t seen him be like this before. But don’t worry, he’ll get better around New Year, and be back to normal a few weeks after that.”

Tybalt shook his head and frowned. “What are you saying, just wait it out?”

“Unless you know a spell to make snow, then yeah, pretty much. Maybe cuddle more—he likes that, even if he won’t admit it—and don’t try to rile him up, but that’s pretty much it. I’ve tried to do all sorts of things before, and the only thing that worked was going away on a trip to someplace with snow. Unfortunately, like you know, my freaking work is forcing me to stay here, and Mercutio didn’t want to go away unless it was all of us.”

“But there has to be something else! We can’t just leave him like that.”

“Careful, Tybalt, darling, your true nature is showing.” Benvolio grinned shamelessly at Tybalt’s dark glare, but sobered quickly. “I know, and I agree. I just don’t… I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried so many things during the years, but nothing works. I hate seeing him like this just as much as you do.”

Tybalt nodded and stared down at the table, deep in thoughts. He could feel Benvolio watch him for a bit before he went back to the huge stack of papers in front of him. That was something Tybalt didn’t envy him, and he took a moment to feel grateful for his own vacation before he returned to the problem at hand. If he knew Benvolio well enough he would have done everything any normal person would think of, and more, so Tybalt had to think outside the ordinary. He cursed the situation; Tybalt was the reasonable one in their relationship, and the one who’d immediately think of a crazy solution was the one who currently needed it.

But thinking of Mercutio and his crazy schemes did give him an idea, and Tybalt faced Benvolio with a smile. “I think I have an idea.”

—

“Come on, get a move on,” Benvolio said and grabbed Mercutio’s hand.

Mercutio looked up at him from the sofa and pulled his hand back. “Why?” was all he asked.

Benvolio gritted his teeth and closed his eyes for a second before he took a breath and looked down at Mercutio. “You will get up from the couch and we will go to the store together, because you haven’t been outside in over a week. I know Christmas wasn’t what you wanted, and you’re feeling down and everything, but I’m not letting you sit here any longer. Now get up,” he said and seized Mercutio’s hand again.

This time Mercutio let himself be pulled up without any further protests, something that made Benvolio frown quickly before he set his face into a stern expression again. It didn’t take long for them to get out of the apartment, what with Mercutio silently following Benvolio’s actions. Once they reached the outer door of the building Benvolio paused and looked back at Mercutio, who raised his eyebrows silently. Benvolio smiled and took Mercutio’s hand in his own, lifting it to his lips and giving it a soft kiss. Mercutio huffed a breath of laugher, but that was his only response.

“Come on,” Benvolio said and opened the door, Mercutio’s hand still in his, but instead of turning to the right, towards the garage, he turned left.

“Wait,” Mercutio pulled at Benvolio’s hand, “Where are we going? This is the wrong way.”

“You’ll see,” Benvolio said without looking back.

Mercutio frowned but silently followed along. The cold made him burrow his face further into the scarf Benvolio had told him to wear, and he smiled momentarily when Benvolio walked closer so that their shoulders brushed against each other every so often. They walked in silence for a while until they reached the small park that lay nearby, upon which Mercutio frowned.

“What exactly are you planning? Is this where I run away screaming?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Benvolio laughed and winked. “I guess that is one option, but you’ll miss the surprise if you do.”

“Then I have to stay, of course. But I’m telling you, if i die I’m going to haunt you terribly,” Mercutio said with a straight face.

Benvolio nodded, just as gravely, before he snorted and grinned. “This way,” he said and motioned for Mercutio to walk in front of him. “Close your eyes.”

Mercutio narrowed his eyes. “I’m telling you, if I trip and die-”

“-you’re gonna haunt me, gotcha. Now close your eyes.”

Mercutio sighed and did as told. Benvolio immediately put his hands on Mercutio’s shoulders and pushed lightly, slowly and carefully steering Mercutio forward. It wasn’t long until he stopped, although it had felt much longer for Mercutio.

“Okay. On three, open your eyes,” Benvolio said, letting go of Mercutio’s shoulders to move to the side. “One. Two. Three.”

When Mercutio opened his eyes he let out a small gasp, his eyes widening at the sight. Benvolio had led him to one of the corners of the park where the hedge, grass, bushes, and trees were all covered in what looked remarkably like snow. A bit his left stood Tybalt and Benvolio next to a huge machine that was shooting out a steady stream of the same snow-like particles that covered the greenery. Mercutio looked confused at the others.

“What is this?”

Tybalt shrugged awkwardly. “We couldn’t go away someplace where it snowed, so we thought - why not bring the snow here? It’s not real snow, but maybe it works anyway?”

Benvolio jabbed an elbow into Tybalt’s side with a grin. “What he meant to say was that he thought we’d bring the snow here. Please don’t ask how much it all cost, I don’t want to think about that.”

Mercutio shook his head and laughed abruptly, taking quick steps towards Tybalt. “You two are crazy,” he said with the first big smile he’d had for weeks. Benvolio smiled just as widely as he watched Mercutio take Tybalt’s face in his hands, while Tybalt had a distinct pinched look on his face that he got when he was embarrassed. Mercutio kissed Tybalt softly once, then deeper. “Thank you,” he mumbled against Tybalt’s lips afterwards.

Benvolio cleared his throat. “Actually, I helped a lot too. I had to help drag that machine here and get it to work, which I’ll tell you is way harder than it looks, not to mention I had to get you here. I believe I should get some gratitude too.”

While Tybalt rolled his eyes Mercutio laughed heartily and leaned over to give Benvolio a long kiss as well. “Thank you as well, my o so valiant champion,” he said with a snort once they’d separated.

Tybalt made a face at the smitten smile Benvolio shot him, then cleared his throat lightly. “Do you- did it make you feel better?”

“I’m okay,” Mercutio said with a shrug and a half-smile. “It’s easier, being out here with you two. I’m not good, per say, it doesn’t work like that, but I’m better. And I would have been better without this too, you didn’t need to-”

“We wanted to,” Tybalt interrupted. “I know you’d have been fine without this, eventually, but I didn’t want you to feel down more than you had to. If there hadn’t been so much trouble with the delivering it would have been here a week ago, before Christmas.”

“And if I had only thought of it years ago I would have bought one and kept it in storage, believe me,” Benvolio piped in. He shook his head and crossed his arms. “I’ve tried to find some way to cheer you up for years, and the first idea Tybalt comes up with works. It’s really not fair, I’m telling you.”

Mercutio chuckled and put his arms around Benvolio and Tybalt’s necks. “It doesn’t matter who came up with it or when. You did this, all of this, just to cheer me up. I- I’m really- you- you two really are idiots,” he finished lamely and grinned when Benvolio poked him hard. Tybalt sneaked a quick kiss.

“Well, I’m glad you liked it,” Benvolio said. “Because something broke, so now we can’t turn the machine off.”


	3. Day 3 - Carols

“What in heaven’s name is that ungodly noise?”  
  
Benvolio turned around and grinned at Tybalt. Behind his shoulder Benvolio could spot Mercutio slowly making his way over, his hands clamped over his ears and a pained expression on his face.   
  
“Merry Christmas!” Benvolio said, barely being heard over the cheery Christmas song playing over the computer speakers.  
  
“That’s not an answer,” Tybalt said with gritted teeth. Mercutio came up behind him and looked wearily at Benvolio. At a particularly high note Tybalt’s right eye twitched, and he took a strengthening breath and said, “I don’t care, just turn it off.”  
  
Benvolio leaned back in his chair and smirked. “I told you you shouldn’t have drunk so much yesterday. It’s not my problem if you can’t handle your liquor, and besides, it’s long after morning now. I have the right to play as much music as I want to, at whichever volume I choose.”  
  
“How can you even do this? You drank just as much as we did, or at least as much as I did—I think I passed out before Mercutio had stopped—but you’re just- just sitting there!” Tybalt made a gesture at all of Benvolio, his movements jerky with annoyance and pain. “Completely fine! Which devil did you make a pact with?”  
  
“It’s not my fault that I have much better tolerance than the two of you, is it?” Benvolio asked with a wide grin. The song ended, but was quickly replaced with a new, speedier one.  
  
“That’s not what this is about,” Tybalt muttered darkly, but didn’t have time to say anything more before Mercutio walked past him and sat down on Benvolio, making them both almost fall off the computer chair before Benvolio hurriedly shifted position and put his arms around Mercutio. When Mercutio looked up at Benvolio he had the most pitiful expression Tybalt had ever seen him wear, but Tybalt couldn’t see one hint of sincerity in his face. Benvolio, however, looked stricken and worried, and Tybalt marveled over how easily Mercutio could manipulate him.  
  
“Why are you doing this to me? Make it stop. Please,” he begged and hid his face in Benvolio’s shirt.   
  
Benvolio looked wonderfully conflicted as he stroked Mercutio’s back soothingly, but he didn’t hesitate long before he reached out and turned off the music. Tybalt felt peace come upon him as his headache lessened to only mildly painful. Mercutio burrowed into Benvolio contented, and Tybalt turned away before Benvolio could see his grin.


	4. Day 4 - Decorations

“No. No way. We are not getting that, put it back. _Now_ , Mercutio, I’m not joking.” Tybalt rubbed his temples and glared at the hideous santa doll in Mercutio’s hands until Mercutio rolled his eyes and laid it on a random, nearby shelf. Benvolio sniggered and grabbed a box of his favorite cereal, wiggling his eyebrows at Mercutio as he put it in their cart. Mercutio pouted, and Tybalt wondered why his boyfriends had to act like such children.   
  
“But our Christmas decorations are so boring, I want new ones,” Mercutio whined.  
  
“Cutio, that doll would have woken up in the middle of the night and tried to slit our throats, you know that, right?” Benvolio asked with a serious face, leaning on Tybalt’s right shoulder.  
  
Mercutio rolled his eyes and hanged on Tybalt’s left shoulder as he drawled, “Of course I know that. I thought it’d make for a good night’s adventure, possibly several if we don’t dispose of it immediately. You could work on that throwing arm of yours, and we could use Tybalt as a meatshield.”  
  
Benvolio tapped his lower lip. “That could work, that could work.”  
  
“You two are ridiculous,” Tybalt muttered and pushed the cart forward, leaving Benvolio and Mercutio laughing behind him. He was so set on ignoring them that he didn’t notice how they bent their heads together and talked in low voices. That was his first mistake.  
  
—  
  
When they had finished shopping Benvolio drove them all home, with Mercutio quickly grabbing shotgun and exiling Tybalt to the back. The whole drive home Mercutio pouted out the window, muttering about surly Scrooges, which Tybalt pretended he didn’t hear. To his surprise, however, Benvolio didn’t park the car in the garage but stopped outside of the building’s outer door.   
  
The car had barely stopped when Mercutio turned around and smiled widely at Tybalt, his bad mood completely changed. “We have one more errand to run, so you go on upstairs, and we’ll be back soon.”  
  
Tybalt narrowed his eyes as he looked from Mercutio to Benvolio. Their innocent smiles raised alarms in his whole being. “What are you two up to?”  
  
“Nothing! I’m wounded you’d think such ill thoughts about us,” Mercutio said and shook his head. Tybalt rolled his eyes, and focused on Benvolio instead.   
  
Benvolio swatted at Mercutio who continued his wounded antics, then turned and smiled loopedly at Tybalt. “Relax, we’re just going to buy some decorations. You know as well as I do that he’s not going to shut up until he gets something new. I promise I’ll keep an eye on him.”  
  
Tybalt hesitated but eventually shrugged, because Benvolio was telling the truth. Best way to get Mercutio to shut up about something that was on his mind was to let him have it, or at least some variant of it. He’d rather have Benvolio follow and keep an eye on Mercutio than himself. “Fine, but don’t you dare buy something nightmare inducing. Or something really embarrassing or gaudy. And for the love of God, only silent decorations.”  
  
Mercutio beamed and promised and Benvolio rolled his eyes fondly, but when Tybalt stood in the doorway and watched the car disappear he had an uncomfortable feeling he’d done something wrong. The only thing he did, however, was shrugging and taking the groceries inside, thinking there was nothing he could do about the feeling. That was his second mistake.  
  
—  
  
“What. The hell. Is that?” Tybalt couldn’t decide if he wanted to scream or cry as he stared down at Benvolio and Mercutio, looking innocently up at him from the couch.   
  
“I’m sorry to make you disappointed, but we aren’t mindreaders,” Mercutio said as he blinked with big eyes. “You need to be more specific, kitty dear.”  
  
Tybalt closed his eyes and willed away the image of strangling Mercutio, no matter how tempting. He opened his eyes and glared at Benvolio instead. “You were going to keep him in check, make sure he didn’t buy anything- anything like that thing that’s currently standing on our balcony!”  
  
Benvolio managed to look even more innocent than Mercutio. “But I did. It’s silent, it’s not gaudy, it won’t give anyone nightmares, it’s not embarrassing-”  
  
“It’s a big Santa with lights making it look like he’s peeing from the balcony!” Tybalt yelled, his hands clutched at his sides to keep from hitting either of the people in front of him, because he didn’t actually want to hurt them. Most of the time. Mercutio bit his lip to keep from giggling, and Benvolio struggled to keep a straight face. “You… you two freaking immature, childish- clowns! _I can’t believe you!_ You showed me normal decorations yesterday, sugar canes and normal Christmas lights and some glass baubles and trinkets to put on the tree. What did you do, sneak around while I was asleep? Because I wake up at five thirty, as usual, and go out and make breakfast and prepare for my morning run, as usual, and I go outside and it’s supposed to be completely dark, as it was yesterday and the day before, but it’s not, and I think, strange, there’s some weird lighting, and I look up and I see a fucking Santa being indecent on our balcony!”  
  
Mercutio burst into laughter at Tybalt’s words, and Benvolio joined him almost immediately. Tybalt’s face twitched and he grit his teeth, taking a deep breath before he trusted himself to talk in a normal volume. “I will go out and run my usual run, and while I am gone you will remove that thing. If it’s still in the apartment, or on the balcony, when I come back I will not be held responsible for my actions.”  
  
With that he turned around and left the wheezing three-year-olds behind him. There would be hell if they didn’t listen to him, he swore as he marched out the door.


	5. Day 5 - Christmas pudding

“What was that even supposed to be? You haven’t told us yet,” Tybalt said in a weak voice as he stared at the charred remains of the pot in Benvolio’s hands.  
  
Benvolio chewed on his lip and avoided looking at either Mercutio or Tybalt. “Christmas pudding. It’s a dish… a friend from Britain said I had to make this. It’s apparently a classic dish there. He gave me his family’s recipe.”  
  
“And where in that recipe does it say to burn down the kitchen?”   
  
“It… doesn’t.”   
  
“So how the hell did you manage- what did you _do_?” Tybalt gestured wildly at the ashy kitchen. Benvolio glanced up and then down again.   
  
Mercutio patted Tybalt on the shoulder and smiled widely. “Hey, take it easy. It was an honest mistake, and he only burnt down the kitchen, instead of the whole apartment. I’ve done way worse!”  
  
Tybalt’s glare made Mercutio yelp and push Benvolio in front of himself, using him as a human shield. “You! You have no right to talk, you human disaster. I don’t want to think about all the damage you’ve done, so you shut up.”  
  
Benvolio bowed his head and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”  
  
“He said he’s sorry! Now cool it already before your eyes burn another hole in the pot,” Mercutio said over Benvolio’s shoulder, then crouched down again with a giggle before Tybalt found something to throw.   
  
Tybalt growled and made some aborted gestures before he groaned and closed his eyes. “Why did this have to happen. Why did this have to happen now?” he asked mournfully but continued before he had gotten an answer. “It’s less than a week until Christmas Eve, how are we supposed to get someone here to fix this mess? I can’t believe this.”  
  
“I know, time has really flied, it’s hard to believe,” Mercutio said and nodded to himself. Benvolio rolled his eyes and swatted at Mercutio, who stepped away with a grin. “Well, now we don’t have to perish at whatever poisonous dish Ben was going to feed us, so I say we eat something out tonight. You can choose, Tybalt dearest,” he said and batted his eyes.   
  
Tybalt dragged his hands down his face and sighed, taking one last look around the ruined kitchen. “Il Desco, then. Someone make sure they have our usual table ready while I…” Tybalt’s mouth remained open for several more seconds before he shook his head with a sigh and left the room. Mercutio and Benvolio looked at each other.   
  
“I’ll call the restaurant, you try not to burn anything more, okay?” Mercutio grinned widely while he fished up his phone from a pocket, then spun around on his heels and sauntered out of the room while he made the call.   
  
Benvolio looked after Mercutio, then down at the ruined pot in his hands. He sighed hard and put it down on the floor. It wasn’t like it would dirty the floor.


	6. Day 6 - Tree

Benvolio hadn’t expected to hear loud voices when he opened the door to their apartment, and there was real anger in both Mercutio’s and Tybalt’s voices, so there really wasn’t anyone who could blame him for simply dropping the grocery bags and running into the living room where his boyfriends stood and shouted at each other. Benvolio stared with wide eyes at them until he registered their words. Then his face fell and he had to resist the impulse to dunk his head into the nearest wall.   
  
“I’m telling you, there will be no fucking fake tree in this apartment as long as I live here!” Mercutio’s fists were tightly pressed at his sides, a restraint Benvolio marveled at, considering how easily Mercutio would jump into a fight.   
  
“And I’m saying, if you care about the trees and the environment you don’t go around cutting down trees that will be used for a month at most, then discarded!” Tybalt’s hands looked more like claws and he was baring an awful lot of his teeth, so Benvolio decided the ridiculous argument had to be interrupted quickly. He had seen enough fights between the two, and did not want to see the aftermath of one happening in their living room.   
  
“That’s enough! Hello, hi, I’m back home, so we can all calm down before our furniture gets damaged. Any and all fights will be happening outside, remember that deal? I do, so you either calm down or go outside,” Benvolio said and stared hard at Mercutio and Tybalt until they looked away.   
  
“Okay. Now, I will go and take off my jacket and shoes and- fuck, the groceries!” Benvolio slapped a hand to his forehead and cursed hotly. “Okay, okay. Okay. I will put the groceries in the fridge—and if there’s anything that’s been broken or ruined you will go and buy it anew, because your shouting made me drop the bags—and when I come back in here you will both have calmed down and thought hard about how to explain what the hell you’ve been fighting about.”   
  
The whole way back to the door and where he’d dropped the bags was spent muttering curses and hoping the eggs he’d bought were safe. He didn’t hear a whisper from the living room, which was as he’d expected; Mercutio would be glaring daggers at Tybalt, and Tybalt would be ashamed over how he had let his temper get the best of him again. Normally Benvolio would find it amusing, but he had gone straight from work to the store and then home, so he was tired and hungry and not in the mood for one of Mercutio and Tybalt’s fights.   
  
He let out a groan when he discovered that not only were the eggs in pieces, but one of the milk cartons had started leaking. At least he should be able to wash the vegetables.   
  
It took several minutes before he could walk back into the living room, where Mercutio and Tybalt sat at one end each of the couch. Benvolio stood in front of them and glared. “So. Who wants to tell me what nonsense you were arguing about? Tybalt, you go first.”  
  
Tybalt opened his mouth, surely to protest, then shut it again at Benvolio’s sharp look. “Fine. I think we should get a plastic tree for Christmas. Not only do we not have to cut down another tree, but we could also use it for several years, and it doesn’t cost as much. Plus it doesn’t shed needles, which I thought Mercutio would love, since he likes to complain so much about having to clean,” Tybalt said with a glare at Mercutio.   
  
“I see.” Benvolio resisted the impulse to roll his eyes, because if he did he wasn’t sure he would stop. “Mercutio, your turn.”  
  
“The point of Christmas is snow and Christmas trees, everyone knows that! And gifts, of course. Fake, plastic trees has no part of it,” Mercutio said with distaste. “We have money and space, why shouldn’t we have a real tree?”  
  
Benvolio could see how the muscles in Tybalt’s jaw worked and he hurried to interrupt before another shouting match begun. “I’m actually with Mercutio on this one.” He ignored Mercutio’s victorious grin and Tybalt’s betrayed face and continued. “I get what you’re thinking, Tybalt, and I agree. However, nowadays buying real trees are actually better for the environment than buying plastic ones, since these sort of trees aren’t growing wild anymore. Or, those that we buy aren’t from the wild. I read a while back that for every tree that is cut down they plant between one to three new ones in its stead. Plus theyre really easy to recycle now, which can’t be said for the plastic trees. So all in all its actually greener to buy real trees.”  
  
Tybalt frowned as he listened to Benvolio, but his betrayed look had disappeared. “I want to check if that’s correct,” he said.  
  
Benvolio nodded. “Of course, go ahead. I might have gotten things wrong, so you should check facts. So now that this discussion is put on hold, Mercutio will go and buy new eggs, a carton of milk, and a handful of mushrooms. Now,” he said and glared darkly when Mercutio opened his mouth.   
  
Mercutio pouted but got up on his feet and trudged past Benvolio, out towards the front door. Proving that he was just as much of a child as Mercutio Tybalt smirked widely at his back, but stopped and looked down on his phone when Benvolio’s glare turned to him instead. Benvolio finally allowed himself to roll his eyes.


	7. Day 7 - Wrapping paper

Benvolio cleared his throat, drawing the attention of both Mercutio and Tybalt. He rubbed the back of his neck as he closed the closet. “It looks like we’re out of wrapping paper.”  
  
“What?” Mercutio was on his feet in a flash and rushed past Benvolio to check the closet himself. “Not even birthday paper? But I have so much stuff that needs to be wrapped!”  
  
“This is why you don’t wait to do such things until the last minute,” Tybalt said and clicked his tongue. Mercutio muttered curses in response while he almost desperately kept on looking.  
  
Benvolio shrugged. “There’s nothing there, Cutio. You just have to buy new ones. If you hurry there should still be some shops open.”  
  
Mercutio pouted at Benvolio. “You’re telling me to go by myself?”  
  
“Yes. Since you’re the one who needs it, you can go buy it. But you can take the car,” Benvolio offered and tossed his keys to Mercutio, who caught them with a scowl.   
  
“Fine. Thanks for nothing,” Mercutio muttered.  
  
Tybalt smirked and waved as Mercutio hurried out of the room, while Benvolio watched silently. He waited another couple of minutes after the front door had opened and shut before he walked into their bedroom. When he came out again he carried several rolls of colorful wrapping paper.   
  
“I thought there wasn’t any paper,” Tybalt commented with an arched eyebrow.   
  
Benvolio shrugged and put down the rolls on the coffee-table in front of the couch. He didn’t even try to hide his smirk as he looked at Tybalt. “I haven’t wrapped his gifts yet, because he’d be all over them and try to figure out what they are. Like he did with yours.”  
  
Tybalt rolled his eyes and nodded. It hadn’t taken twenty-four hours after Tybalt had placed the gifts under the tree before Mercutio had victoriously announced what they were. How he had done it without opening the gifts was still a mystery.  
  
Benvolio went back into the bedroom quickly and came out with an assortment of items that he put down next to the rolls. Tybalt leaned forward to look closer and snorted at what he saw. Apart from scissors and tape there was a big lamp shaped as a Pac-Man, a pair of slippers that looked like zombies’ heads, and a mug with the letters ICK written on it and the handle shaped as a D.   
  
“He’s going to parade around in those slippers for months, you know that right?” Tybalt asked with a grin.  
  
“At least they’re better than your dartboard,” Benvolio shot back with a dry look. Tybalt looked away with a grimace, and Benvolio sat down on the couch and got to work with a satisfied smirk. Tybalt scooted closer and handed Benvolio whatever item he needed. They’d have at least fifteen minutes before Mercutio got back, so they worked in companionable silence.


	8. Day 8 - Traditions

Tybalt glared as yet another person walked into him, then disappeared without so much as a ‘sorry’. He was in such a bad mood after an hour in the market that hadn’t Benvolio been holding his hand tightly he would have turned around and hunted down the person. Benvolio was already on his way to the next stand, however, and Tybalt didn’t want to let go of his warm hand. A little of his irritation lifted when Benvolio turned back with a wide smile to show him a trinket that had caught his eye.

“Ben, Ben, I got a joke for you!” Mercutio threw his arms around Tybalt’s shoulders without so much as a warning and leaned forward to get Benvolio’s attention. Tybalt would surely have fallen over under the sudden weight if he hadn’t gotten so used to Mercutio’s antics over the last year. “What do you call Santa’s little helpers? _Subordinate clauses_!”

Tybalt rolled his eyes as Mercutio guffawed at his own joke, but he didn’t try to hide his smile. Benvolio chuckled as he paid the stallholder. “Did you remember to buy pandoro for us, or did you eat it all already?”

“Of course I didn’t eat it,” Mercutio answered with an exaggerated eye-roll. He lifted the hand that held a plastic bag; from his position Tybalt could smell the smell of the sweet bread, and he could imagine biting into it with pleasure. “I wouldn’t dream of visiting the nativity scenes without pandoro to eat, it’s tradition. Tradition that our dear Tybalt will join for the first time,” he added with a grin, giving Tybalt’s cheek a quick peck.

Tybalt huffed and buried his face in his scarf. It helped him hide his ridiculous grin as Benvolio grabbed his hand again to pull him towards the Arena. Mercutio jumped off of Tybalt’s back and took his other hand instead, happily following along.


	9. Day 9 - Crackers

”I don’t understand, why do you do this? You don’t know how much you hurt me by being like this.”

Tybalt growled as he avoided Mercutio’s determined hands. Ignoring Julia’s giggles he dashed around the couch, the only thought in his head to avoid the ridiculous, pastel green thing in Mercutio’s hands. “I don’t care, Mercutio. You will not put that on my head.”

“But I made it especially for you”—Tybalt would not give in to those damned eyes, no matter how pitiful and sad they looked—“it’s full of my love and care, so why won’t you accept it? Just look at Ben, he doesn’t mind wearing it, because he’s not afraid of love!”

Benvolio shrugged from the couch end opposite Juliet, the pastel blue cracker hat proudly displayed on his head. “I really don’t mind wearing it,” he said, “because I’m not afraid of love at all.”

He looked so innocent, but Tybalt could easily see the evil lurking in his eyes as he watched Mercutio weight his options. It must be the payback for the week before when Tybalt refused to let Benvolio leave the apartment dressed as a Christmas tree—the fact that he had had gift boxes as shoes was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Julia cooed from where she cuddled into Romeo’s arms.

“No, Julia, don’t be fooled by their lies,” Tybalt quickly said, carefully keeping his eyes locked with Mercutio’s as they circled the couch, neither lowering their guard. “They may talk of sweetness, but their intent is the darkest evil.”

“You flatterer,” Mercutio purred and grinned suddenly. Tybalt felt his eyes widen at the same moment a pair of arms grabbed him from behind and pulled him down into the couch.

He had been too focused on Mercutio and forgotten there was another threat.

Benvolio laughed as Tybalt tried to struggle free, his efforts ultimately futile; Benvolio had too hard a grip and had also managed to lock down Tybalt’s legs with his own. Tybalt shook his head slowly as Mercutio closed in with a predatory grin.

“No no no,” he mumbled, but was ignored.

—

Several hours later—hours filled with food, music and dance, jokes, and lots of specially-made eggnog—Tybalt sat on the vacant couch, taking a moment to breathe and try to make the world stop being so shifty.

“Tybalt! Tybalt, Tybalt, Tybalt. You’re sitting all by yourself, stop that! Don’t be such a sourface,” Mercutio said and laughed, slinging an arm around Tybalt’s shoulder. He had a gold cracker crown on his head, with a smiley face drawn on.

Tybalt only huffed and pouted elsewhere; he’d fight anyone who said he pouted though, as proven by Romeo’s bruised arm. He’d take any chance to fight Romeo though. Romeo who was in their guestroom with Julia, Tybalt thought with protective irritation. That little punk.

“Come on, are you still mad?” Benvolio leaned hard into Tybalt’s side and breathed into his neck, sending goosebumps all along Tybalt’s back. His crown was about to fall off, so Tybalt quickly reached up and pushed it down, earning a grin and a quick kiss. “Don’t be mad, we love you. We made a crown for you.”

“You only wanted me to wear it so I’d embarrass myself,” Tybalt muttered.

Mercutio pushed away from Tybalt with a gasp. He glared darkly as he pointed an unsteady finger at him. “ _That’s a lie_! That’s not true and you’re a liar! You don’t lie about those things, that’s not right! I love you very much and I would never make you a crown to embarrass you, that’s a lie! Ben, he lies,” he said to Benvolio, his lip shivering.

Benvolio nodded, solemn, and patted Mercutio’s head. “I know, I know.”

Mercutio turned back to Tybalt, the full force of his sad eyes hitting Tybalt and making him want to take Mercutio in his arms and assure him everything was fine. It took all of Tybalt’s will to resist the impulse, and he cursed the power of those eyes. They were dangerous.

“You know that I didn’t want to embarrass you with that crown, right? I love making fun of you and embarrass you but only when it’s silly and you’ll smile about it too one day, but I didn’t want to embarrass you with this. I wanted you to have fun with us,” Mercutio said.

Tybalt glanced at Benvolio, who nodded fiercely. Unwilling to completely surrender he muttered, “You teamed up against me.”

Benvolio and Mercutio were struck by the same sudden thought, judging by their identical leers, and Benvolio pushed up against Tybalt again while Mercutio positioned himself in Tybalt’s lap, smiling down at him. “We can show you that we love you, and didn’t want to embarrass you,” Mercutio said.

“Just let us,” Benvolio mumbled into Tybalt’s neck. His hand was warm against Tybalt’s thigh, just as Tybalt’s whole body was beginning to warm.

Feeling more than a little light-headed Tybalt nodded, but this time he didn’t mind Mercutio’s predatory grin.

\- End -

 

Extra:

Romeo wandered out into the living room, trying to cover his yawn with a hand. He had half a mind to wonder what had happened to the others once he and Julia had gone to bed, but his thoughts didn’t have time to think about it before his eyes noticed the figures on the couch. As his mind hadn’t managed to fully wake up he went closer with bleary eyes. Quickly enough—too quickly, he would cry into Julia’s arms later—his mind snapped awake and he realized exactly what he was seeing.

Julia was woken up by the sudden, high-pitched scream of her fiancé, and for a moment she panicked. Then she heard Tybalt start shouting at Romeo, and soon after Benvolio and Mercutio’s laugher, and she laid back with a sigh. She’d have to get ready to take care of her scarred man. Soon. As soon as she decided she wanted to leave the warm bed.


	10. Day 10 - Cards

”You’ve been locked in that room for almost two hours, kitten, so cough it up. What are you trying to hide?”   
  
It would have been a lie if Tybalt had said his heart didn’t jump into his throat as Mercutio seemed to materialize from nowhere, just as Tybalt closed the door behind him. He quickly stuffed the envelopes behind his back and watched Mercutio’s eyes follow his movements.   
  
Mercutio narrowed his eyes and raised his voice. “Ben! Tybalt is hiding something from us.”   
  
“Or maybe he’s just trying to hide something from you, thought about that?” Benvolio shouted back from his office, where he sat and read assignments. He’d been at it when Tybalt came home, so he shouldn’t have much more.  
  
Tybalt inched to the side, trying to calculate his chances of passing by Mercutio if he moved suddenly, but Mercutio followed his movements with a grin. Silently cursing Tybalt realized he had just made the mistake of practically inviting Mercutio to chase after him. “It’s nothing important, none of your business,” he said tightly.  
  
Mercutio only smiled. “Then show it to me, if it’s not important.”  
  
Tybalt looked away for a second, one second too long, and Mercutio pounced on him. They hit the door, then the floor where they rolled around, Mercutio trying to grab what Tybalt was desperately trying to get away from him.   
  
Only when someone cleared their throat above them did either of them pause. Benvolio looked down at them, utterly unimpressed. “Separate, now.” His tone didn’t allow for any disobedience and Mercutio unwillingly let go of Tybalt and scooted away with a pout. Benvolio continued, “You are not schoolchildren, I shouldn’t have to abandon my job to stop you two from- whatever it was you were doing.   
  
"Mercutio, maybe if you stopped ambushing Tybalt and demand he tell you his secrets he’d tell you by himself. Tybalt, you know how Mercutio is. If it’s nothing important, please just tell him instead of baiting him.”   
  
Both Mercutio and Tybalt were looking down on the floor, feeling much like a pair of children getting scolded by their teacher. Tybalt sighed heavily and rubbed his neck. “I was making Christmas cards to send to my aunt and uncle, Julia, and the rest of my family, okay?”  
  
Mercutio grimaced. “No way, that’s it? And I thought you were doing something interesting,” he said and pouted. “But… how the hell did it take so long to write a bunch of cards?”  
  
Tybalt shrugged awkwardly, his tone hesitant as he spoke. “I didn’t just write them. I’ve always sent handmade cards, and this year is no exception.”  
  
Benvolio rolled his eyes and turned around, waving lightly with his hand as he walked back to his office. “There, mystery solved. Tybalt enjoys making Christmas cards, what a terrible surprise. Now be quiet so I can finally get rid of these damned papers.”  
  
Mercutio narrowed his eyes at Tybalt. “Why did you feel like you had to hide that from me?”  
  
“I…” Tybalt hesitated and shrugged again, looking anywhere but at Mercutio. “It is such a ridiculous thing to do, waste hours on making and drawing and writing personal cards to each person. I guessed you’d laugh?”  
  
Mercutio gave him an unimpressed look, somehow managing to feel more condescending than Benvolio. “I make cards for my brother and uncle every year. Not for Paris though, the boring egomaniac. Why should I laugh at you doing the same?”  
  
“I didn’t know that,” Tybalt said with real surprise. He couldn’t quite imagine Mercutio going through the same ritual as he did every year, but he didn’t think Mercutio lied.   
  
Gone was the sour face as Mercutio grinned widely and stood up, reaching out a hand to Tybalt. “I haven’t sent them yet. Come, I’ll show you.”


	11. Day 11 - Santa

“Hey, hey, hey, Tybalt, Tybalt. Why does Santa have three gardens?”  
  
“I… don’t know?”   
  
“So he can ‘ho ho ho’!”  
  
—  
  
“Ben, Ben, why are Christmas Trees like bad knitters?”  
  
“They aren’t?”  
  
“They are. They keep loosing their needles!”  
  
—  
  
“Tybalt, what sort of motorbike does Santa ride?”  
  
“Mercutio, I’m busy-”  
  
“A Holly Davidson!”  
  
—  
  
“Hey, Ben, what does Santa suffer from of he gets stuck in chimney?”  
  
“Please, not another-”  
  
“Claustrophobia!”  
  
—  
  
“Tybalt, tell me, what happened to the man who stole an Advent Calendar?”  
  
“Mercutio, I swear-”  
  
“He got 25 days!”  
  
—  
  
“Ben, what do you call Father Christmas in the beach?”  
  
“I’m not listening.”  
  
“Sandy Clause!”  
  
—  
  
“Hey, Tybalt-”  
  
“Shut up, Mercutio, I will hit you.”  
  
“What do you get if you cross Santa with a duck? A Christmas Quacker!”  
  
—  
  
“Hey, hey, Ben, what do reindeer hang on their Christmas tree?”  
  
“I don’t know and I don’t want to know.”  
  
“Horn-aments!”  
  
—  
  
“Hey, I was thinking. Why does Santa go down the chimney on Christmas Eve?”  
  
“Cutio, this. Is. Not. The time.”  
  
“For fuck’s sake, Mercutio, I will stop fucking you if you don’t stop with those fucking jokes!”  
  
“Because it 'soots’ him!”  
  
“That’s it! I’m done, I’m leaving! I’m through with this shit!” Tybalt shouted as he left the room.  
  
Benvolio sighed heavily and glared at Mercutio who only kept laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jokes: http://www.whychristmas.com/fun/cracker_jokes.shtml


	12. Day 12 - Feast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession time: I still giggle at the hilarity of this dialogue. Completely and utterly seamallister's fault.

Benvolio made a face when his stomach rumbled loud enough that Tybalt had to smother a grin. He rolled his eyes as he removed his shoes and jacket and muttered, “You traitor. It’s not like I can help it! I had to take Filipe to the hospital, okay, I didn’t have time to eat anything. In fact, I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.” He clutched his stomach and groaned, making Tybalt snort at his dramatics. “I’m starving! If I don’t eat anything now, I’m gonna die, I swear.” He left his bag on the floor and hurried into the kitchen.

“Sure, sure,” Tybalt said with a chuckle. He took more time removing his outerwear, then walked after Benvolio while looking through the various mail they’d gotten. “You want me to make you something?”

“I, uh, don’t think you need to do that.”

Tybalt frowned and looked up, thinking Benvolio’s voice sounded weird, and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight. He may have crumpled some of the envelopes.

Mercutio was lying on his side on the table, smiling innocently in greeting, and naked as the day he was born. When he saw that Tybalt had joined them he raised a hand and waved before letting it fall down on his hip again. Tybalt followed the motion with his eyes, then continued further down, and felt his face heat up as Mercutio was visibly getting affected by his staring.

“I’m guessing you’ll be too distracted to cook,” Benvolio said with a snort and patted Tybalt quickly on the shoulder. “Better not risk it. I’ll just grab a sandwich.”

“If you’re hungry for meat, I have plenty you can taste,” Mercutio purred.

Benvolio chortled and shook his head as he walked past the kitchen table, heading straight for the refrigerator. “Sorry, Cutio, but since I can’t actually eat you I’m choosing the refrigerator. Don’t pout, I can hear it from over here. I’m famished, okay? You can play with Tybalt instead, I’m sure he won’t mind _feasting_ on you.”

“Oh, is that so?” Mercutio smiled at Tybalt and licked his lips. “Ben says you’ll play with me, kitten. Why don’t you come closer and show me that you really don’t mind.”

Tybalt swallowed hard and dropped the mail, taking several swift steps forward until he could bend down and kiss Mercutio hard.

“For the love of god, not on the table! Respect the food!”


	13. Day 13 - Mistletoe

“Hey, Tybalt. Tybalt! Come here!”  
  
Tybalt looked up from his computer and frowned. “What do you want?” he yelled back. Normally Mercutio would simply come in person and bug him if he wanted something, and it was strange that he didnt, but Tybalt was right in the middle of an important mail and so didn’t want to go and find out what was happening unless it really was important.  
  
“I have something to show you, now come!”  
  
“I’m busy!” Tybalt stubbornly focused on the screen again and ignored the sound of steps quickly getting close. He couldn’t ignore it, however, when Mercutio pulled his chair away from the desk. Tybalt turned to glare at Mercutio. “What do you want?”  
  
“I have something to show you,” Mercutio repeated and grabbed Tybalt’s hand, pulling him out of the chair. “Come on, your oh so important work is still going to be there, I promise.”  
  
Tybalt sighed and rubbed his face with his free hand. “It actually is important, Cutio. I’m reviewing the terms of the new contract with the army and it has to-”  
  
“That sounds amazingly boring. You obviously needed to get away - good thing I intervened, or you’d have sat there for the rest of the night,” Mercutio said with a shake of his head. “Ah, we’re here!” He let go of Tybalt’s hand and spun around to stand face to face with Tybalt.  
  
Tybalt looked around with a raised eyebrow. “The… hallway? What was so important to show me in the hallway?”  
  
Mercutio grinned and pointed up. Tybalt followed the direction and sighed when he saw a mistletoe hanging from the lamp above them. “Really?” he asked wearily. “That’s it? You dragged me away from my work because of a nonsensical Christmas tradition?”  
  
Mercutio chuckled and took a step closer, putting his arms around Tybalt’s neck and leaning forward until their breaths mingled together. “It’s a fun tradition, don’t you think? Even if it’s silly,” he murmured and closed the final distance between their lips.   
  
Soon enough they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat, and Tybalt turned around to see Benvolio watch them with a grin. “You really went to such trouble to get a simple kiss, Cutio? You know you only have to ask,” he said.   
  
Mercutio chuckled and leaned heavier on Tybalt, whose annoyance had completely disappeared. “But it’s so much fun this way.”  
  
“I agree, I agree,” Benvolio said and walked closer, his hands in his pockets. “But isn’t it much easier to simply do this?” he asked and pulled out a small mistletoe sprig from a pocket, holding it over his head and leaning forward over Tybalt’s shoulder to give Mercutio a quick kiss.  
  
Mercutio hummed and nodded. “That’s not a bad idea. Much easier than having to drag people over to where you want them. On the other hand, it’s fun to drag people around,” he said with a wide grin.  
  
“Of course, that’s true. I see your point,” Benvolio said with a thoughtful face, then snorted and grinned just as wide as Mercutio. He cocked his head to look at Tybalt, his hand still raised above their heads with the mistletoe. “Won’t you respect the tradition, Tybalt dear?” he asked sweetly.   
  
Tybalt rolled his eyes and huffed, but both Benvolio and Mercutio saw the smile that he couldn’t quite push down. Benvolio chuckled and leaned forward instead, pressing his lips against Tybalt’s.   
  
Mercutio watched them both with a wide smile. “See? Much better than work.”


	14. Day 14 - Hats and scarves

“No, take that off, that is hideous. I refuse to be seen with you wearing that.” Tybalt looked at Benvolio’s monstrosity of a hat and shook his head. He’d be willing do accept a lot, more than most others would, but not that.   
  
“But it’s made to look like Optimus Prime! And it’s keeping me warm,” Benvolio protested, although Tybalt couldn’t actually see his mouth move.   
  
“I. Don’t. Care. You will remove it or stay home,” Tybalt said with gritted teeth. If he’d known there was such an item in Benvolio’s wardrobe he’d have destroyed it long ago. It was obviously time to go through it again, he thought as he eyed the monstrosity. There could be no more surprises like that.  
  
“No way! I paid good money for this, I’m going to use it.” Benvolio glared back over his crossed arms.   
  
Tybalt opened his mouth to argue, but closed it with a snap as Mercutio came towards them, wrapping a multicolored scarf with twisted Santas and snow figures on it around his neck. Tybalt shook his head slowly, horrified into silence.  
  
“Sorry for taking so long, I’m ready to go,” Mercutio said with a smile.   
  
Tybalt thought hard about his life choices.


	15. Day 15 - Lights

“Hey, wake up, wake up.”  
  
Mercutio groaned and pressed his face further into Benvolio’s chest, refusing to listen to the person shaking his shoulder.   
  
Benvolio, however, opened his eyes with a sigh. “Tybalt?” he murmured sleepily. “What’re you doing? It’s the middle of the night.”  
  
“You’re awake. Good. Help me wake up Mercutio as well, I have something I must show you two,” Tybalt said with a sense of hurriedness that woke Benvolio up more firmly.   
  
Benvolio sat up in the bed, pushing away Mercutio, who immediately rolled up in a ball, and looked at Tybalt. “Has something happened?”  
  
“No! No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Tybalt said and shook his head wildly. “It’s… it’s a surprise. For the two of you.”  
  
Benvolio cocked his head to the side and studied Tybalt, who awkwardly fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “Okay. I’ll get dressed. And, Cutio, you can stop pretending to be asleep. I know you’re wide awake,” he said with a yawn.   
  
Mercutio pouted as he opened his eyes. “Traitor.”  
  
—  
  
“So. We’ve been walking for almost twenty minutes now, were are we going? Is this another surprise, like the snow machine? We’re not blindfolded, so I guess that’s better than the last time. Although, this time we were woken up in the middle of the night, so that’s a big negative,” Mercutio mused aloud.  
  
Benvolio gave him a hard push. “Shut up. It must be something important for Tybalt to do this, so don’t be an ass.”  
  
“We’re almost there,” Tybalt said, reassuring, and flashed Benvolio a smile.   
  
They walked past a few more houses and entered a small garden of sorts, with trees, a few patches of flower beds, and a couple of benches spread around the area. It was surrounded by a thin metal fence, and Benvolio walked forward to lean against it. “This is beautiful, Tybalt.”  
  
From where they stood they could see the river Adige that flowed through Verona; there was a lone boat slowly making its across the water, a lone light in the darkness. Over at the other side of the river they could see how the city were lit up, small lights here and there moving and giving the sense of life. Up in the sky the moon shone brightly, and it felt serene.  
  
Mercutio stood next to Benvolio, taking it all in. “I didn’t know there was a spot like this, so close to home.”  
  
“I discovered this place a few years ago. When I had a lot on my mind I used to come here and just let it all go,” Tybalt said. He took a deep breath and continued, hesitant, avoiding eye contact when Benvolio and Mercutio turned around. “I felt- I wanted to show you this. It’s a special place for me, and- and you’re both special too. To me. So I wanted to share it.”  
  
Benvolio smiled widely and dragged Tybalt into a tight hug. It was a rare thing to hear Tybalt say such things out loud, and it warmed him every time. “Thank you,” he murmured.  
  
Mercutio leaned back on the fence and smiled warmly, waiting until Tybalt glanced up before he spoke. “It really is a peaceful place, with a beautiful view. I’m glad you showed it to us. Even if you did wake us up to do so,” he finished with a grin.   
  
Tybalt rolled his eyes, but it felt like the smile on his face would never go away. He wished it wouldn’t.


	16. Day 16 - Gift Giving

“I’m happy that’s over,” Tybalt said with a sigh. He was lying on their couch with an arm thrown over his face, his feet having been pushed away by Mercutio so he could sit down.  
  
Mercutio glanced up from the bowl of candy in his lap with a quick smile. “What, are you tired of spending time with your family, kitten? I thought you never wanted to be parted from them.”  
  
“It’s not that,” Tybalt protested, “it’s just… the gathering of our three families was more nervewrecking than I thought it would be. I was sure there’d be a fight every time someone opened their mouth.”  
  
“Don’t forget that quite a few of those times it was you who opened his mouth,” Benvolio muttered from where he was curled up in one of their armchairs. “It didn’t go as I thought it would, but it’s over now. Poor Romeo though, he was so proud of the dinner room decoration.”  
  
Tybalt scoffed. “I agree with cousin Valentio, the boy has terrible taste in interior design.”  
  
“But not so bad taste in women, does he?” Mercutio asked with wiggling eyebrows, earning a scowl. He giggled and put the bowl back on the table, then crawled over the couch to burrow into Tybalt’s side. The couch wasn’t quite wide enough for two people to lie next to each other, but he didn’t care and Tybalt just put an arm around him.   
  
Benvolio looked at them and smiled. “It was nice though, wasn’t it?”  
  
Tybalt shrugged and muttered, “Yeah, it was. Exhausting, but nice. I’ll be happy if we dont do something like this again until next Christmas though.”  
  
“Just think about the presents you got that you otherwise wouldn’t have gotten,” Benvolio said with a wink. He laughed heartily when Tybalt rolled his eyes again.  
  
“It’s not about presents, and to be honest I could have easily been without several of them. What do your family even think about me? Giving me office material, really?”  
  
“I don’t care about those gifts either,” Mercutio said and hugged Tybalt closer. Both Benvolio and Tybalt looked at him in confusion, because Mercutio was the one who loved getting gifts the most. “There’s really only one gift I care about this year, and it’s you two. That I love you, and you’re both here, and we’re all together. I don’t want this to ever end,” he finished with a happy sigh, pressing his face into Tybalt’s shoulder.   
  
Tybalt blinked down at Mercutio, glanced at Benvolio, then down at Mercutio again. His face was starting to heat up and his head was suddenly devoid of words, so he just tugged Mercutio closer and pressed his lips against his forehead.   
  
Benvolio smiled as he watched them, feeling the truth in every one of Mercutio’s. There really wasn’t any place else he’d rather be, and no other people he’d want to be with. “I love you,” he said. “Both of you, so much.”  
  
Mercutio looked up at Benvolio and smiled back.


	17. Day 17 - Warmth

“It’s s-s-so cold.” Benvolio hugged himself and jogged on the place. Mercutio watched him with a smirk, all dressed in warm clothes and with hat and scarf, the little shit.   
  
“You should’ve dressed better, like we said,” Mercutio said.  
  
“We were just going to drive to the dinner at my cousin’s house, how was I supposed to know the car would break down and we’d be stuck here? I thought it’d be enough with a simple jacket.”  
  
Mercutio grinned, but his look as he glanced at Benvolio’s hands wasn’t happy. “Take my gloves, okay? We don’t want you to lose your hands, they’re the ones that know me the best,” he said with a wink and handed over the thick gloves.  
  
Benvolio slipped them on happily, with only a quick grimace at Mercutio. He looked at Tybalt, who was finishing his phone call. “What’d they say?”  
  
“They’re sending someone to come get us,” Tybalt said with a sigh as he pocketed the phone. “Should be here in five, ten minutes. They’re going to send someone else to take the car later, though. Apparently there’s been an accident near Parona, so they’re busy there.”  
  
“Well, it’s like I’ve said for months: time for a new car!” Mercutio said pointedly to Benvolio, who pouted and looked at said car.  
  
“But it’s my Carina. I can’t just get rid of her, I’ve had her since I was 18,” Benvolio said and sadly patted the hood.   
  
Mercutio rolled his eyes. “It’s a car.”  
  
“It’s a companion.” Benvolio glared and crossed his arms again.   
  
Tybalt sighed and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, we can discuss that later. Right now we need to think about keeping warm until someone comes to pick us up, especially you, Ben. You should have brought a thicker jacket.”  
  
Benvolio groaned. “I get it! I should’ve dressed warmer, I get it, now stop nagging. Trust me, I’ll be sure to do just that from now on, not planning on freezing to death like this again.”  
  
Mercutio grinned suddenly, his face lighting up the way it did when he had an idea, and he opened up his jacket. Benvolio raised an eyebrow, but Mercutio only grinned at him. “Come on. I have a warm jacket, plus body heat. We can share!”  
  
Benvolio considered for a moment, then shrugged and walked over to Mercutio, hugging him close. It did get warmer, especially when Mercutio closed the jacket around them as much as he could. It didn’t close completely, but Benvolio didn’t mind; Mercutio was soft and warm, so he pressed tighter.   
  
“You’re really cold,” Mercutio muttered. He looked at Tybalt with a frown. “Think they’ll be here soon?”  
  
Tybalt looked at his watch. “It’s only been a couple of minutes, I doubt they’ve gotten far.”  
  
“Then come here,” Mercutio said with a smile. “We could always use another source of body heat, plus you won’t get so cold standing by yourself.”  
  
Tybalt hesitated, but Benvolio twisted and looked back at him. “Not the time to care if it’s embarrassing or whatnot. Come over here. My back’s cold.”  
  
It was enough to convince Tybalt, who huffed and joined them. He had begun to feel the bite of the wind, and any additional warmth was good. He could always keep an eye out for any incoming car, after all. Meanwhile he pressed up against Benvolio’s back, putting his hands in Mercutio’s jacket’s pockets. He jumped when he felt a pair of hands grab his ass, and he looked up to see Mercutio grin shamelessly.   
  
Tybalt sighed. At least he was warm.


	18. Day 18 - Relatives

Tybalt was in the middle of studying a dressing shirt when Mercutio slid between him and the clothes rack. He sighed and rolled his eyes as Mercutio stared intently over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Lord Ego is here,” Mercutio hissed. “If he sees me I just know he’s going to blab about all the gifts he’s bought and what he expect to receive in return, and where he’s spent the holidays so far, and _every_ detail of his various plans for Christmas Eve. I don’t want him to see me.”

“Paris is here?” Tybalt growled and turned around, searching for a hint of the figure he despised so much. Ever since Paris’ failed courtship of Julia Tybalt had had it in for him and it was rare for the two to meet without at least a verbal fight. It wasn’t unheard of them getting in a physical fight as well.

Mercutio hissed again and pulled Tybalt back to cover him. “ _No_ , no going off to look for a fight! Stay here and protect me from lethally boring chatter instead.”

Tybalt fought against Mercutio’s grip. “Let go of me. I’m not going to fight him.” Mercutio eyed him with narrowed eyes but let go, and Tybalt adjusted his jacket with a huff. “Besides, Julia would kill me if I made us late to her dinner. I am not going to risk it.”

“What aren’t you going to risk?”

Benvolio looked far too amused for Tybalt’s taste, and he had to bite back several sharp replies. Before he had found a neutral enough answer Benvolio noticed Mercutio and smirked. “Oh, Cutio, I met your cousin just now.”

Mercutio made a face. “Please tell me you didn’t tell him I was here.”

“I told him you were off in the other side of the mall, looking for a fitting gift for him in the second hand store on the second floor. He rushed off before I had a chance to say bye,” Benvolio said with a grin.

Mercutio beamed and wrapped his arms around Benvolio, squeezing tightly. “My hero!”

“Yes, yes,” Benvolio said with a laugh. “Out of curiosity, what have you bought for him?”

“A Christmas sweater, in particularly nauseating shades of red and green. I’m going to give it to him at the Christmas dinner,” Mercutio said with the most evil grin Tybalt had seen. He couldn’t help but grin as well at the thought.

Benvolio laughed out loud at that, and mimicked wiping away tears. “Tell me before you give it to him so I remember to have the camera ready.”

“Of course, dear. Anything for you,” Mercutio said and gave Benvolio a kiss.

Tybalt shook his head, still smiling. “Come on, let’s go before he comes back.”


	19. Day 19 - Sleigh

“I’m cold,” Mercutio moaned and clung to Tybalt’s arm.  
  
“I know,” Tybalt said and continued forward without so much as a glance at Mercutio. “You’ve said.”  
  
“We’ve been walking for forever. Can’t we just take a bus or grab a cab or something?” Mercutio turned to Benvolio with a pout.  
  
“No, we can’t, because Tybalt thinks that’s a waste of money when we can just as well walk. Even if we’re hungry and frozen and our feet hurts,” Benvolio said with a sour look at Tybalt’s back.   
  
“And remind me why we’re just not ditching him and doing what we want anyway?” Mercutio threaded his arm with Benvolio’s.  
  
“Because before we went out we all agreed that it would be better if only one had the money, so he’s the one with the cash. And he still refuses to give any to us, even though we all share bank account and so the money is therefore just as much ours as it is his.” Benvolio’s glare hardened.  
  
Tybalt rolled his eyes and stopped walking, turning around to glare back at Benvolio and Mercutio. “You’re both complaining about nothing. We have half an hour, an hour tops, to walk before we get home. That’s nothing! There’s no bus nearby that would take us home, and cabs are goddamned expensive; we are not getting a cab unless someone is dying.”  
  
“I can arrange that,” Mercutio muttered and made a grimace when Tybalt looked at him.   
  
“We have money, plenty of it, so I don’t understand why you’re so set on this.” Benvolio glared another moment, then sighed and moved forward, dragging Mercutio with him and leaving Tybalt behind them. “He’s a stubborn and cheap ass, there’s no use in talking to him. Let’s just go.”  
  
Mercutio muttered a while longer, but soon quieted and simply glowered at the snow instead. Tybalt walked a couple of steps behind them, sulking silently with his hands in his pockets.   
  
They hadn’t walked for ten minutes when the accident happened; to warm himself up Mercutio had begun telling the story of a snow spirit who got in trouble because of his cheap heart, and deep in his story as he was he didn’t notice the patch of ice that was covered by only the tiniest layer of snow. As his foot slipped the sound of a sharp crack was heard, then the thud of Mercutio hitting the ground.   
  
Benvolio reacted quickly, throwing himself on the ground next to Mercutio, who was staring at his feet with gritted teeth. “Mercutio! What- are you okay? Are you hurt? I heard a- something-”  
  
“My foot,” Mercutio bit out. He was breathing heavily and had lost all color in face.   
  
Tybalt bent down by Mercutio’s feet. “Can you move it?”  
  
Mercutio concentrated, then gasped and shook his head. Benvolio frowned and looked around. Several people had stopped to see what was going on, but a bit further away he could see the street. “Come on, we have to get you to a hospital. Tybalt, take his other arm.” As he was talking Benvolio jumped to his feet and waited for Tybalt to do the same. Together they laid Mercutio’s arms around their shoulders, then lifted him up and started walking towards the street.   
  
“There!” Benvolio pointed to the left.  
  
“You have got to be kidding me. A horse and sleigh?” Tybalt’s voice said exactly what he thought about that idea, but Benvolio gave him a hard look.  
  
“I can’t see any cabs or even any passing cars here. If you’d rather steal a parked car I’m sure that could work, but if not this is the quickest option. And Mercutio is in pain,” Benvolio said sharply.  
  
Tybalt glanced down on Mercutio, who was hanging between them with closed eyes as he focused on breathing. “Fine,” Tybalt said with a sigh. “Let’s take the damn sleigh.”   
  
They hurried over to the nearest horse, and, while Benvolio helped Mercutio into the sleigh, Tybalt talked with and paid the sleigh driver. The man finished up quickly and had readied the horse almost before Tybalt had sat down.   
  
Mercutio grinned weakly, wincing at every bump in the road. “So romantic, a sleigh ride through the city. I’m touched, kitten, especially that you would spend such money on little, old me.”  
  
Tybalt scowled at him. “Shut up and focus on staying still. We’ll be at the hospital in about fifteen minutes.”  
  
“Ah, plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful view then,” Mercutio said and gripped Benvolio’s hand. “See, Ben, we did get that ride we wanted.”  
  
Benvolio huffed and pressed a kiss to Mercutio’s knuckles. “I think I’d have preferred to walk.”  
  
Mercutio smiled at Tybalt. “You know what, so would I.”


	20. Day 20 -Magic

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Tybalt glared darkly at Mercutio, who had just risen from his bed. “The doctor said as little movements as possible for seven days at least, and it’s only been two days. I know you went to the bathroom half an hour ago, so don’t try that excuse this time.”  
  
“Maybe I need to go again,” Mercutio said with a pout, but he didn’t offer any resistance when Tybalt pushed him down on the bed again. He laid back, and very slowly and gingerly raised his right foot to place it on a thick pillow.   
  
Benvolio came into the room just as Mercutio had made it comfortable for himself again. “He tried to leave the bed by himself again, didn’t he?” he asked with a sour look.   
  
Tybalt rolled his eyes with a nod. “Third time today.”  
  
“I can’t help it. I’m bored!” Mercutio pouted and did his best pitiable face, but when all he received was twin looks of disinterest he dropped the facade. “Come on, entertain me!”  
  
“We’re not your servants, Cutio, you can’t order us to do things,” Benvolio said and crossed his arms.   
  
“Please?” Mercutio tried adding with a big smile. “Tybalt, can’t you do something?”  
  
Tybalt frowned and glanced at Benvolio. “Me? What would you think I could do?”  
  
Mercutio leaned forward and gestured at Benvolio, lowering his voice as if to tell a secret. “You know, Ben, I have it on good account that our dear kitten used to be quite a magician when he was younger.”  
  
“Wait what? You did magic tricks? You? You never told me.” Benvolio looked at Tybalt, halfway between amused and horrified.   
  
Tybalt, however, was firmly stuck on being horrified, and stared at Mercutio with wide eyes. “No one knows that. I never told anyone! Who to-” He stopped himself and sighed heavily. “Julia.”  
  
“Right on the first try,” Mercutio said and grinned widely. “She told me how you used to show her all your tricks, and about that specific trick with the roses you always did whenever she was feeling sad, and still do. Oh, and also-”  
  
“Julia talks too much,” Tybalt interrupted with a glare. His tone was hostile and his face far from friendly, but his cheeks had begun to redden, and now Benvolio had started smiling as well.  
  
"This sounds very, very interesting.“ Benvolio leaned against the doorframe, effectively blocking the only way of escape. "Why don’t you show us a few tricks of yours? It’ll make the time go faster, I’m sure.”  
  
Tybalt looked between Mercutio and Benvolio, then breathed out. “Fine. I’ll do one trick, but then you’ll stop asking about it.”  
  
“Of course,” Mercutio said genially. Benvolio and Tybalt both knew he wouldn’t stop.   
  
“Right. So, do either of you have a blank paper around?”


	21. Day 21 - Ice Skating

“Aren’t you coming?” Tybalt looked back at Benvolio, who was standing still on the ice.   
  
“I am, just give me a moment. This isn’t precisely my favorite thing to do,” Benvolio muttered and slowly pushed forward on the ice skates.   
  
Tybalt frowned and turned around to skate closer to Benvolio, hovering around him. “If you don’t like to go ice skating you should have said so, we could have stayed home.”  
  
“No, that’s not it. I like skating, I do.” Benvolio laughed and grabbed Tybalt’s hand, using him as support. “It’s just that I’ve always lacked the skills to be good at it. Unlike some people.” He looked ahead and shook his head fondly at Mercutio laugh as he was being chased by a bunch of kids. Mercutio was just as quick and graceful as he was on ground, and one could easily have thought he was running on grass instead of slippery ice.  
  
“Yes, well, some people need to learn to take it slower,” Tybalt said and clicked his tongue as he watched one of the kids fall and start crying. Mercutio was quickly at the girl’s side, but he looked more than a little bit panicked. He had never liked it when children cried.   
  
Benvolio huffed a laughter. “It’s a good thing we’re going slow and steady, then. Any quicker than this and I’m going to fall as well.”  
  
Tybalt shrugged and easily kept skating next to Benvolio. “The speed is of no matter to me. What’s important is the company, so rather than go off on my own I think I’ll stay here with you.”  
  
Benvolio smiled widely, waving at Mercutio who was looking their way. The girl had stopped crying and had decided to try and climb onto Mercutio’s back instead, surely demanding to be taken on a ride around the small rink. It wasn’t the first time Mercutio had done that, and the neighborhood children loved the speed and the tricks he could do. The parents encouraged it, glad to have a free babysitter for a while.   
  
“You’re such a romantic,” Benvolio said and grinned at Tybalt. “I feel special, no, I feel _honored_ to be bestowed your company.”  
  
Tybalt rolled his eyes. “If I want sarcasm I can talk to Mercutio. If you don’t want me to stick around, just say so.”  
  
“Don’t run away.” Benvolio raised Tybalt’s hand and kissed it. “I’ll be nice, so stay with me?” Tybalt huffed but didn’t try to pull back his hand, so Benvolio knew he wasn’t actually mad. He turned in another direction, explaining to Tybalt as he did, “We should probably head in another direction. If we get too close to Mercutio he’s going to start chugging off kids on us.”  
  
“I thought you liked kids,” Tybalt commented with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Benvolio winked. “I do, but sometimes someone else can take care of them. Right now I just want to skate with my boyfriend in peace and quiet.”


	22. Day 22 - Hot Chocolate

Mercutio was busy glaring at the rebellious espresso machine when the door opened, letting in new customers along with cold air. Normally he’d have greeted them happily, but at the moment he was locked in a battle he refused to lose, and, besides, Viola could take care of them just as well.   
  
“No ‘hello’ for your favorite boyfriends? I’m feeling unloved here,” a familiar voice joked, bringing an involuntary smile to Mercutio’s lips.  
  
“I think you can take a little less loving today, Ben, after yesterday’s activities,” Mercutio said and turned around with a smirk. Benvolio and Tybalt stood at the counter, each dressed in thick winter clothes, Mercutio noted. “Has it gotten that cold? It wasn’t that cold when I came into work, almost pleasant even. Wasn’t it supposed to stay that way the whole week?”  
  
Tybalt nodded and removed his hat, deeming it unneeded in the warm café. “It was, but as proven time and time again it is a futile effort to even try to predict the weather.”  
  
Mercutio grinned and leaned his hip against the counter. “And here comes our dear Tybalt’s animosity towards weather forecasters, amusing to hear as usual. One day you will have to tell us why you hate them so much.”  
  
“There’s nothing to tell.” Tybalt pursed his lips and looked away. It was tempting to lean forward and rub his cheeks—he always got this indignant look that Mercutio found absolutely _charming_ —but Benvolio, who must have seen the way Mercutio inched forward, cleared his throat.   
  
“Anyway, Tybalt said that you probably weren’t dressed for this sort of chill, so we drove here to give you a ride home instead, since we are the most generous and humble and loving boyfriends one could want.”  
  
“Also bored out of their minds, right?” Benvolio shrugged with an innocent face, and Mercutio snorted. He glanced at the clock on the wall, then had to take a second look. “Wow, I had no idea it was that late already. Time has really been flying today; first we had a group of tourists that swarmed the place for _four_ _hours_ , then Niccoló started messing around, so I’ve been fighting with him for- oh, two hours now.”  
  
Tybalt sighed and eyed Mercutio tiredly. “Can’t you stop naming your machines after your exes?”  
  
“I do it only because their personalities fit so well,” Mercutio replied with a wide smile. He gave said machine a hard smack, and it peeped loudly as if protesting. “Like our—sadly non-departed—Niccoló, this machine is also a piece of shit, preferring to fuck up everything it touches and spit in our faces if we try to reason with it.”  
  
Benvolio shook his head. “You’ve complained about that machine for weeks. Isn’t it time you throw it out and get a new one?”  
  
“Ah, but you see, dear Benvolio—" Mercutio raised a finger and tutted, "—unlike his garbage of a namesake, this Niccoló actually does have his good sides. You’ll only have to taste his espresso once to realize that his is a talent you can’t just throw away. So instead we fight and reason and, if nothing else works, threaten him, and at the end of our troubles we get an amazingly good drink.”  
  
Benvolio and Tybalt looked at him with matching deadpan looks, which didn’t bother Mercutio the slightest. He simply grinned, taking a moment to wave goodbye to the couple that had been sitting in a corner for most of the day. Viola came up the to counter, smiling quickly at Benvolio and Tybalt. “Hey, guys. Cutio, there’s only those two teenagers left, and about twenty minutes before we close, is it okay if I go early today?”  
  
Mercutio nodded, waving a hand at her. “Go, go. Disappear quickly before I come up with a reason to keep you here, and go home myself.”  
  
She nodded and gave a thumbs up before rushing off towards the back door. Experience had taught her that if Mercutio said to disappear quickly, he meant it. “See you, guys,” she called out, and then she was gone.   
  
“Now then. Since you were so _thoughtful_ and came to escort me home, I believe you deserve a treat.” Mercutio hummed and motioned towards the cozy chairs in the front of the café. “Go sit down, I’ll be there soon.”  
  
Benvolio lead the way, choosing the chair with the best view of the street and throwing his jacket in the chair next to it. Tybalt took more care in hanging his jacket on one of the clothes stands next to the door, before sitting down. They chatted for a little while, then fell silent as Mercutio came walking, bearing a tray with three steaming mugs on it. He placed the tray on the coffee table before giving Tybalt a kiss, and then climbing into Benvolio’s lap and giving him a kiss as well.   
  
Tybalt took one of the mugs and sniffed once. “Hot chocolate?”  
  
“The best for this sort of weather, don’t you agree?” Mercutio smiled and grabbed one mug for himself, simply holding it and warming himself.  
  
Benvolio smiled and hugged Mercutio. “The best,” he agreed.


	23. Day 23 - Stockings

“No, that’s ridiculous! Tybalt, tell Benvolio he’s being ridiculous!”   
  
Tybalt looked up from his desk and frowned as Mercutio stormed into the room Tybalt and Benvolio used as an office, Benvolio hot on his heels. “What are you talking about?”   
  
“Benvolio has this stupid idea, and it breaks everything that’s right and traditional about Christmas. But he refuses to let it go!”  
  
Benvolio scoffed and crossed his arms. “It’s not stupid. I think that instead of everyone having a Christmas stocking of their own, we could have a big one to share.”  
  
Mercutio swirled around and spread his arms wide. “But that’s not how it works! Each person has a stocking so they can get small gifts and candy and whatnot tailored to them specifically; having one big defeats the whole purpose! Besides, it would look ridiculous. And where would we hang it? Do you have a magical hidden room with extra space?”  
  
“And you should think of the inconvenience of those tailored gifts,” Benvolio shot back, gritting his teeth and glaring darkly. “It’s better for everyone to have only one, because then we can concentrate on getting candy everyone likes. Not to mention, that’s already what we do! We always share the gifts, and the candy, and it’s never especially tailored to begin with, so I don’t get what you’re arguing about! And you’re being unreasonable on purpose, it’s not like I want to buy a giant stocking. What are you imagining, something bigger than a tree?”  
  
Tybalt raised a hand, as well as his voice. “I have two things to say.” He waited until he had gotten their attention, then continued. “First of all, I don’t see the purpose in having Christmas stockings at all. Second, I’m in the middle of drafting a document that will be the backbone of a big and expensive lawsuit. I closed my door for a reason, and this debate is what’s truly ridiculous. Now get out and stop bothering me!”  
  
Benvolio cleared his throat and muttered an apology, quickly exiting the room. Tybalt turned to look at Mercutio, and they silently watched each other for several long seconds, until Mercutio huffed and turned around, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Sighing, Tybalt leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. He lived with children, he thought, ridiculous children.   
  
Tybalt had barely began concentrating on the document again before he heard voices rising in the hall. Gritting his teeth he muttered to himself to ignore them, just ignore them, but had to admit defeat.   
  
It took but a moment to rise from the chair, go over to the door, tear it open, and shout, “SHUT UP!”  
  
Finally silence.


	24. Day 24 - Christmas Eve

To say the atmosphere was strained was to put it mildly, but at least everyone did their best to be civil towards each others, and Benvolio had only had to intervene twice during two hours, which was honestly a miracle as far as he was concerned. Maybe the idea to have a joint dinner with all three of their families hadn’t been the best idea, and Tybalt had been vehemently opposed at first while Mercutio had laughed at the thought, but eventually Benvolio had gotten his will through. If he’d been honest, though, he hadn’t actually expected them all to come; the Montagues and Capulets had been sharing much ill will between each other for decades, and since their disputes ended up at Police Chief Escalus’ desk far too often he normally wasn’t thrilled about dealing with them on his free-time as well.   
  
It had been a good thing Julia had proposed they had the dinner at her and Romeo’s house. Benvolio didn’t want to think about having the dozen hostile adults and handful unruly children inside his beloved apartment, not when it had managed to survive Mercutio and Tybalt’s fights. As it were, Romeo could worry about broken furniture and biting remarks about decoration instead, while Benvolio focused on simply keeping the peace.   
  
It wasn’t the easiest thing to do though, he thought bitterly as he dragged Tybalt away from one of Benvolio’s cousins. “You are one of the hosts, can’t you _try_ to avoid fighting?” he asked as soon as he had gotten Tybalt somewhat alone.  
  
Tybalt looked away with a dark face. “If I hadn’t been trying to keep a good face there’d have been blood. ‘I know the truth about the Bertinelli deal’, hah! As if that stuck-up, inane, _ignorant_ cretin even had the slightest inkling about what happened there!”  
  
Benvolio sighed and squeezed Tybalt’s hand. “Breathe, dear, breathe. Don’t murder my cousin, even if I have more than I care to remember. If it makes you feel better, Andrea messed with a big headline the other day; my aunt found out, and now he’s been delegated to proofreading other people’s articles for an unspecified amount of time. He’s just trying to get to you because he’s pissed off.”  
  
“That does make me feel better,” Tybalt answered thoughtfully. “Maybe I won’t need to sully Julia’s floor with blood after all.”  
  
“That’s good to hear.” Benvolio patted Tybalt’s hand. “Have you seen Mercutio? I haven’t seen him for a while, or heard him, and it’s making me nervous.”  
  
Tybalt frowned as he thought. “Last I saw him he was in the kitchen, chatting with Helena, Rosa, and Gustavo.”  
  
“I checked the kitchen. He wasn’t there, and the others didn’t know where he’d gone.” Benvolio shook his head and looked around, trying to get a glimpse of his missing boyfriend. If there was one person he didn’t like walking around unsupervised in the current situation, it was Mercutio. Nobody knew what mischief he could be doing, and just thinking about it make Benvolio’s hands clammy. “We need to find him.”  
  
“You’re being paranoid, Ben. What do you think he’d-”  
  
A furious yell rang through the house, followed by the sound of flesh hitting flesh, and Benvolio groaned. There was no time to waste, and he was hurrying towards the source of the noise, Tybalt following tight at his heels.   
  
They found Mercutio coming from the back hallway, rubbing his piercing red cheek with a grin. Benvolio gestured wildly, trying to find suitable words, so Tybalt went ahead and asked what had happened.   
  
“Oh, nothing but a trifle. Your relatives are quite easy to upset, kitten. Please don’t glare, Ben, I’m already hurt enough, don’t you think?” He pointed to his red cheek with a miserable look.   
  
“I’m sure that you deserved it,” Tybalt commented dryly. “What did you do?”  
  
“I was only trying to be helpful! Two lovebirds, too busy trying to devour each other in a hallway to notice that they aren’t alone. Since they hadn’t even tried to open the door they were leaning against, I thought that they didn’t mind anyone seeing them. Only they didn’t react kindly to my tips and pointers,” Mercutio said with a put out sigh. “ _Ungrateful_ , the two of them. Not only did they scream at me, but I got slapped as well before they stormed away. I guess that’s what you get for trying to help.”  
  
Benvolio hid his face in his hands and took a moment to breathe. At least it hadn’t been near the worst case scenarios he’d imagined, but that wasn’t much of a comfort. “The rest of the evening you will stay close to either Tybalt or myself, okay? Or Julia, or Romeo, or Valentine. Or your uncle, that would definitely work too. I will not have you antagonize any Capulet—”  
  
“I was helping!”  
  
“—if I can help it. You promised me, both of you, to behave tonight.” Benvolio stared at the two of them. “I want this to be a good evening. Can you keep your promise and not pick any fights? If not for me then for Julia and Romeo, and the future of our families.”  
  
Tybalt made a grimace and looked down at the floor. “I apologize. Of course- I’ll conduct myself properly from now on, I swear to you.”  
  
“Thank you. And remember, if anyone tries to rile you up, just imagine you beating the shit out of them. Then you should be okay.” Benvolio smiled encouraging, then turned to Mercutio with a raised eyebrow.   
  
Mercutio sighed heavily. “You never let me have any fun. _Fine_. For your sake I promise to behave. I’ll even be so good as to stick with any of my designated babysitters, just so you won’t have to worry.”  
  
Benvolio shook his head, but it was done with a smile. “I’m grateful. Now let’s go back to the living room. I don’t want to be away for too long, who knows what might happen,” he muttered.   
  
Mercutio laughed and slung an arm around Tybalt’s shoulders, telling him in detail about the couple he’d found and the many ways he’d thought of improving their lovemaking. Tybalt sighed long-suffering and tried again and again to shut Mercutio up. They almost walked into Benvolio, who’d stopped dead in his tracks.   
  
“What’s going on?” Tybalt bent forward to get a look, and his eye twitched as he saw his aunt stand less than a feet away from Mercutio’s imposing uncle, both of them glaring at each other with enough venom that it felt like they’d drop dead at any moment. Behind them Benvolio’s aunt stood victoriously, sipping her glass of wine. The tension had caused every conversation in the room to die.  
  
Mercutio hummed. “So, it was okay to stick with my uncle the rest of the evening, right?”


	25. Day 25 - Christmas Day

When Benvolio woke up his first thought was that there was something missing. Mercutio was burrowed into his arms, but there was no warm body pressed against his back, as there should’ve been. He could clearly remember Tybalt’s arms pulling him close before he fell asleep, and their absence was upsetting.   
  
Opening his eyes with a groan, forcing the drowsiness out of them with willpower, Benvolio looked around the room. No Tybalt.   
  
Slowly and carefully he moved his arms away from Mercutio, hoping that for once he wouldn’t wake up. The hope was in vain, though, Benvolio realized as Mercutio groaned and opened bleary eyes.   
  
“Whas go'n on?” he mumbled.   
  
“Nothing, just going to find Tybalt,” Benvolio answered softly.   
  
Mercutio sat up and yawned big. “I’ll come with.”  
  
Benvolio opened his mouth to argue, but decided against it. Mercutio was already awake, and had decided to stay awake, so there was no point in trying to get him to sleep again. Instead Benvolio nodded and rose from the bed, stretching as he did. He could hear rustling from behind him as Mercutio also left the bed.   
  
The time couldn’t be much, Benvolio thought as he looked out the window. It was dark, although there was enough light that he didn’t need to switch on any lamp as he looked for pants. Mercutio didn’t care for such trivialities and walked out of the room, perfectly satisfied in his underwear. Benvolio followed him into the kitchen, where the light was on.   
  
Tybalt stood at the stove and Benvolio took a moment to breath in the wonderful smells of freshly cooked breakfast.   
  
“I was going to wake you up as soon as I was done,” Tybalt muttered as soon as he noticed them. Mercutio went over and plopped down on a chair at the table, smiling sleepily. Tybalt smiled and returned the quick hug Benvolio gave him. “I tried to be quiet and not wake either of you. Apparently I failed, sorry about that.”  
  
“No, no, it was me who woke up, by myself, and then woke up Cutio.” Benvolio leaned against the cupboards and watched Tybalt work.   
  
Tybalt glanced at Benvolio, then down at the food. “I’ll have it ready soon. Christmas Day, wanted to do something special.”  
  
“So you make us a feast? I can’t say I’m complaining,” Benvolio said and grinned.   
  
“I’m definitely not,” Mercutio agreed loudly, a half-eaten egg in his hand.   
  
As Benvolio shook his head and went over to the table to guard the rest of the food from Mercutio’s greedy fingers he was sure he heard Tybalt chuckle. It was a nice morning.


End file.
